The Precursors Champion
by Darktreader98
Summary: Set somewhat during Jak II and behind the main events of Jak III. My OC becomes the fabled warrior of the Precursors in this Jak and Daxter Fic. Rated M as a precaution for language and severe violence.
1. Introduction

The Precursors Champion

By Darktreader98

Aloha, gutentag, hola, hei, bonjour, and all in all, HELLO! DT98 here with my most anticipated idea for a story. I give you, The Precursors Champion, my Jak and Daxter FanFic. The Jak and Daxter series was my absolute FAVORITE game as a little kid. These games defined my childhood! They were awesome! They had wicked weapons, awesome powers, incredible graphics for their age, and an UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME STORY! And best of all, you played as Jak, the elfish-looking badass that basically turned into a purple, electrified Hulk when he got pissed. What a wicked game character. As you can tell, I'm quite excited. This story does use an OC as usual, mostly because I couldn't even consider screwing with Jak himself. The story itself takes place in the Wasteland, mostly. It will eventually have some semi-original areas and maybe some scenes in Haven City. I'm also going to tweak the story a bit. So, the story kind of takes place during both Jak II and III. It's kind of difficult to explain. But the story comes from an idea I got while playing Jak II. More specifically, from the cutscene at the start when Jak is being injected with Dark Eco. It made me think that Jak probably wasn't the only experiment. Baron Praxis says, "I was informed that this one might be different!" during the scene, reinforcing my idea. So the idea is that my OC was also a Dark Warrior experiment that didn't die during experimentation. He remains imprisoned during the events of Jak II, but is exiled into the Wasteland at the same time as Jak. It also made me think, what happens to those King Damos didn't find? They couldn't ALL die in the desert. So this is my idea of what would happen to an unleashed experiment on in the Wasteland. A little far-fetched, but hey, it's Jak and Daxter. The ultimate sci-fi, fantasy, shoot em up, combat game extraordinaire! Now that I have rambled sufficiently let's get this show on the road…


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

I could feel the pain.

I could hear the voices.

I heard their screams.

And all I knew was the rage.

The days merged together. When was yesterday? Has tomorrow come yet? The pain blocked all.

I could see flashes. Shadows. Not a lot at first, but as the time went on, things were recognisable. Soldiers in red uniforms patrolling the halls. Prison cells. A man with a metal eye and a sword at his hip. Other faces, they were seen once and forgotten. Except for one. A boy. He looked in his late teens with yellow-green hair. For some reason, this face was seen multiple times. Every other person, including the boy, was brought to the lights.

The lights.

Dark purple lights that struck out like bolts of lightning.

The pain. The lights left pain. The pain blocked out the world. The pain stopped time. The pain lasted for an eternity, and at the same time, never more than a few seconds.

Frequently, the men in red would get me from my cell and bring me to the big room. I would lie in the metal chair with the sword-man watching as the machine would send out the lights. There was always another in the room, but who it was, I will never know.

For an eternity and seconds, the lights would pierce. And then it would end. The pain never faded, and the rage ever grew. But every time the lights would leave, the sword-man would always look surprised. At times he spoke. Words that had no meaning to me. Things like 'Dark Eco' or 'Dark Warrior'. They never had a meaning to me, but the constant use of the word 'Dark' didn't exactly inspire confidence that I would survive my ordeal.

So now it is time to leave.

I write this to the poor bastard who takes this cell next. I write this with a sharp rock on the wall as the lines on my body glow the purple of the lights. The voices call to me. They tell me to escape. They tell me how.

I pray that the voices will save you too.

I dropped the rock as the door to my cell opened and two Krimson Guards walked in.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I dropped the rock as the door to my cell opened and two Krimson Guards walked in.

"Get up Eco-Freak," said the one on the left. "The Baron wants you back in the testing room."

I stood up quietly as each of them grabbed one of my shoulders. All of a sudden, one of the guards jumped back in surprise with a loud yelp.

"What's the matter?" the other guard asked him.

"I don't know," the first one replied. "Something just… shocked me."

I looked down to see small bolts of purple light bouncing off my skin.

"Use it…" said the voice inside my head. "Feel the rage… use it…"

I felt the rage. I grabbed it inside of me, like holding a rock in your fist.

"Good…" whispered the voice. "Now… release it!"

And I let it out.

The Krimson Guards at my sides were immediately-and violently- thrown back. One of them hit the metal wall hard enough to leave to a large dent in it, while the other hit the meager bed that shattered on impact. And I could feel myself beginning to change.

My arms got larger until muscles were bulging underneath my skin. I became taller, until I was twice the size of any Krimson Guard I've ever seen. I looked down at my hands and saw that I had massive talons growing from my fingertips. I also saw my skin had changed colour to a pale gray and I had shocks of the purple light rapidly jumping from my skin.

I heard one of the Krimson Guards moan and start to stir. I lumbered towards him and picked him up with both hands. He started to scream as I ripped him in half straight down the middle. Suddenly I felt a jolt in my back. I turned around to see the other Krimson Guard with a stun rifle aimed at me. I dropped the pieces of his dismembered comrade and picked him up by his head. I then flung him into the wall with enough power to send him flying _through_ the metal wall.

By this time, sirens were blaring and the door to my cell was closing into lockdown mode. I walked towards it as it hit the ground, pulled back my arm, and threw a devastating punch. As the punch connected, the door flew out of the wall straight into a group of guards that were running by. The door crashed into them sending them flying in all directions. I went over to check how many were taken out. Through a quick count, I summed up about a dozen guards. As I turned to find the exit, I noticed one of the guards reaching for his pistol. I reached down, picked him up by his head and squeezed. With no effort, the Krimson Guards head caved in. Satisfied, I started down the hall again.

About five minutes later, I heard a voice behind me.

"Well, well," I turned around to see the man with the metal eye accompanied by a whole legion of Krimson Guards. "Turns out not all of the experiments were a failure."

I bared my jaws (which I realized had changed into fangs) and let out a massive bellow that shook the walls.

The man to his left spoke up. "I don't think he will surrender, Baron Praxis."

That was him. The other voice from the room with the lights. And I finally had a name to put to the man with the metal eye. Baron Praxis. Finally, I know the name of the man I'm going to rip the guts out of.

"Should I give the order, Baron?"

"Permission granted, Commander Errol."

Errol nodded. "Take him down soldiers."

All three dozen Krimson Guards surged together at once. Once again, I let out a great bellow and charged to meet the KG force. With a swing of my arm, a half-dozen Krimson Guards went down. I could hear and see plasmite rifles being fired at me, but I couldn't feel the shots connecting. I flung my arm towards a group of them and bolts of purple lightning shot out. When a bolt hit one, it would bounce and hit other guards and continue with a chain reaction. Shots kept firing but I felt nothing. I swung and slashed, tearing the KG attack force to shreds. I slammed my fist into the ground and sent shockwaves of purple light at a group of guards. I picked up and ripped apart one of the guards and then I threw the bloody pieces back at a group with their rifles blazing.

I felt a jolt at my side. I looked down and saw a guard wielding a stun rifle. I grabbed him and impaled him with his own rifle. I started to feel more shocks and jolts. More guards were hitting with stun rifles. I smacked back a few of them, but they all struck at once. I felt my legs give out. I hit the ground. The last thing I saw was Baron Praxis walking towards me.

And then I blacked out.

**I want to say I'm sorry for not updating my other stories as much. I would also like to thank the guest SnowyDusk and the user Zac Saturday for giving me the only type of positive feedback I've ever gotten. You guys were my motivation for finishing this chapter quickly. DT98 out!**


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

I was awakened by a punch to my gut.

I looked around and saw roughly six dozen Krimson Guards in the surrounding great room. Baron Praxis was pacing in front of me and Errol was at my side. It then occurred to me that he was the one that so kindly awoke me. I tried to move my arms only to find they were chained to the wall I was pressed against.

"So good of you to join us," said the Baron. "I was starting to worry the stun rifles were too much for you, Eco-freak."

"What do you want, Praxis?" I asked. Apparently it was the wrong thing to say, because it earned me another punch to the stomach.

"Speak to your superiors with some respect," growled Errol.

I smirked. "I'm sorry. What do you want, _my lord_?" The mock respect was evident in my voice. That only seemed to anger Errol further. I felt his anger as another series of bludgeons to my gut.

"Enough, Commander," ordered Praxis. "We need him alive – for now."

Baron Praxis came closer to the wall. Suddenly the sword at his side seemed more noticeable.

"Valric Meddon," he said in an addressing tone. It took a while for me to realize he was addressing me.

When he concluded I wasn't going to answer him, he continued anyway.

"Who helped you try to escape?" he asked.

I looked up at him. "What makes you assume I had help?"

That earned me more punches to the gut.

"Answer the Barons questions or things will get a lot worse for you." Errol threatened.

I groaned and spit on the ground. Was that blood? Probably.

"I didn't have any help."

"BULLSHIT!" the Baron shouted. He drew his sword and ran it across my chest. It was only then I realized I didn't have a shirt on and the glowing purple lines were prominently showing. The blade was sharp as hell and left a deep but clean slash across my chest. The cut hurt like hell, but I didn't give him the satisfaction of showing pain. The cut itself hurt more than it should have, but then I noticed the blade was glowing. The damn sword was infused with Green Eco.

"Why do you think I had help?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"You either had help or were helping," Praxis replied. "Another prisoner escaped while you were busy tearing up the KG. A boy by the name of Jak. Ring any bells?"

Jak, Jak, Jak… nothing. "Sorry, Baron," I told him. "I don't remember anything." I laughed. "Hell, before you told me, I didn't even know my name was Valric!" I then started laughing hysterically even as Errol drew his belt knife started slashing my chest. Hell, if I'm under torture I may as well make them work for the pain!

"Enough, Errol."

Errol turned to look at Praxis. "He can't tell us anything, Baron Praxis. Let's just be done with it."

"No," Baron Praxis said. "Of all the Dark Warrior subjects, only two have survived. Jak – who escaped – and Valric. This one may be the answer to our problem with the Metal Heads. We need to keep him for further testing."

"I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about me as if I weren't here," I piped up. Last thing I saw was Errol's fist driving towards my face.

Then I lost consciousness.

**DT98 here! I would like to thank all my great readers for their support! I planned on making this chapter longer, but I wanted to get it posted ASAP. Thanks again JaD fans. Darktreader98 out! **


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

I came to with a severe pain… everywhere. I looked around and was starting to wish I had stayed knocked out.

I was back in the chair. Back in the testing room. Back where this all started.

Back with the lights.

A large machine covered in terrifying needle-like objects started lowering from the ceiling. It eventually stopped about three feet above me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Baron Praxis walking towards the chair.

"Nice machine, huh?" he asked. "This is the Eco Infuser. I use it to inject test subjects – namely, you – with Dark Eco. I bet you're wondering why. Well, I'll tell you." Great now he was starting to monologue. What next, a plan on how he will kill his arch-nemesis and take over the world?

"The Metal Head wars have ravaged this planet for centuries. Haven City has been locked in war with those vile creatures for the last few decades. And we are losing the war. So when I took to power, I vowed to turn the tides of war. I decided to create the perfect soldier. One with unimaginable powers. And I would achieve this through the help of Dark Eco," he paused for a moment. Then he looked at me. "The Dark Warrior."

He moved away from me and the chair. He looked up at the machine and shouted orders at it. Suddenly, the machine started whirring. Then bolts of purple light – Dark Eco – shot from the needles to me. At me. In me. Through me.

The pain. The pain was unimaginable. I tried to avoid showing pain, but it was impossible. The pain made time stop and made feel like my organs were melting inside my body. I couldn't tell how much time went by but suddenly it faded. The pain didn't leave, just it stopped being fresh. I heard a voice come from the machine.

"Dark Eco injection cycle complete. Bio readings normal."

Great, I thought. I hope that means I'm done for the day.

"Errol," Baron Praxis called over to the commander. "Take him to intense lockdown. If he tries to escape, kill him."

Maybe it was a trick of the light, but I thought I saw Errol smile. "As you wish, Baron Praxis."

I felt the latches that locked me to the chair release. I barely had time to sit up before a group of the KG grabbed me. I was immediately put in handcuffs and chains. With Errol at the head, we started marching out of the testing chamber and down the halls. After marching for about ten minutes, we stopped at the largest cell I had ever seen. Errol turned to me and smiled.

"Welcome to your new home, Eco-freak," he said. "I hope you like the decoration. Completely impenetrable stone walls layered in the strongest steel in Haven. The door is six foot thick steel imbedded and covered in a wonderful combination of plasmite and eco bombs. So if any unusual amounts of force are applied to the door, this entire wing goes up in flames."

I ignored Errol best as I could and walked into my cell quietly. As the door closed behind me, I heard Erol laugh. If there ever was a more diabolical laugh, I've yet to hear it. The door shut and I was locked in here, alone in the pitch black darkness. Wait, not complete darkness. The glowing lines provided a pretty decent light source. With my arms held out in front of me, I looked around. I didn't like what I saw.

The entire room was littered with skeletons. All of which seemed fairly old. But I could feel something from them. An energy they were giving off. Then it hit me. They were giving off residual Dark Eco. They were all failed experiments of the Dark Warrior project. Praxis must have used this room to store the corpses of the ones that died. I'm beginning to wonder what that makes me.

The days began to merge together again. Times beyond count I was brought to the chair. Times beyond count I was brought back and left in the room with the skeletons. I had no idea how long I was in there. I'm assuming months. But every day it was the same routine. And the rage. The rage ever grew.

The door to my cell started to open again. Errol and the KG. I stuck out my arms as they clapped the cuffs to them. We started the march to the testing chamber.

When we entered the room, I noticed something different with the machine. Where one could usually see Dark Eco crystals there was a large green stone. I could feel an aura emitting from it. Not an aura of malevolence like the Dark Eco. An aura of greatness. The power it emitted was incredible.

Baron Praxis was standing by the chair. He noticed me staring at the stone and I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye. The KG strapped me into the chair while the Baron said nothing. He just stood there smiling.

When I was fully locked in, Praxis finally spoke up.

"Intriguing, isn't it?" he asked. "I found this at the bottom of Mar's Tomb. This is the greatest energy source on the planet. The power it holds is unimaginable."

"This is the Precursor Stone."

I just sat there staring at the stone. The words meant nothing to me. The power the stone emitted – that meant something to me.

"We shall see if the Stone does anything to you Eco-freak. If not, then we shall have to go to Plan B."

As usual, Praxis backed up from the chair and barked orders at the machine. The Eco Infuser started whirring, and bolts of pale green light shot out. I was prepared for the pain, but what I got was… different.

There was no pain. If anything it was fading the pain from the Dark Eco. I felt at peace. Memories that were destroyed by the Dark Eco infusions came flooding back.

My name was Valric Meddon. I am - or rather was - a combat specialist and weapon designer from Portside Haven. I designed weapons and did the occasional job for the mercenary Krew. I designed the Peace Maker for Krew's hired gun, Sig. I had no family. I was taken because of my weird abilities to work with eco, which is how I made guns. Also because of the peculiar lines on my body.

Eventually, I regained everything about my past. And suddenly, memories started become unfamiliar. I got flashes of people in open war with Metal Heads. People shooting off bolts of eco. People molding things out of the various coloured eco. I saw people with immaculate wings of white light firing bolts from above. I saw people swinging blades that were made out of pure eco. At the head of it all, I saw one person from atop a cliff looking down at the battle. He wore armour made of pure black stone. Glowing lines shone out from under and through the armour. He held a blade of smoldering Green Eco. Suddenly he jumped into action. Literally. He jumped off the cliff headfirst. He started glowing white and a pair of the glowing white wings spawned from his back. He flew just over the battle slashing Metal Heads with his blade and dropping bombs of Red Eco. He cut down a good number of Metal Heads, but his real target was further back. The memory followed him, and I saw a massive Metal Head. It was firing off bolts of purple energy that left huge craters in the battlefield. The warrior in black was flying towards the Metal Head at an incredible speed. Just as the warrior reached the Metal Head he brought his sword back to swing while still going towards the creatures head. The giant Metal Head had its mouth open and purple energy was gathering in its open maw. The energy reached its peak at the same time as the Black Warrior was within striking distance of the beast. The energy fired from the Metal Head as the Black Warrior swung.

And suddenly, it stopped.

The images faded as quickly as they appeared. I looked around and saw that the cause was because Praxis stopped the machine.

"Precursor Stone injection cycle complete. Bio readings normal."

Baron Praxis slammed his fists on a nearby desk. "Commander, prepare for Plan B," he said without looking up. "And deal with this… abomination."

"As you wish, Baron Praxis."

Suddenly, a siren sounded.

"Fortress under attack. Fortress under attack. All Krimson Guards report to Wing 47."

"Aaargh," Praxis growled. "Errol, take the KG and fend off the attack." He turned and looked at a small group of guards. "Take the Eco-freak back to his cell." The guards nodded and placed me in my transporting restraints. The last thing I saw before the guards took me away was something I never saw on the Baron's face before. It was a look of fear.

The next week was a blur. Rumors flew around the fortress. Rumors that the city was falling. Things like this didn't concern me. I spent my time thinking about what the Precursor Stone showed me. All my memories.

What really concerned me were the memories that weren't mine. The battle between the Metal Heads and the people with the eco abilities. I mainly wondered what happened at the end between the giant Metal Head and the Black Warrior.

These thoughts consumed me until I finally heard something that interested me. Errol was dead. Killed in an accident involving barrels of eco and a racing zoomer. Not long after that, I heard something else.

Baron Praxis was dead. Killed by the Metal Head leader. That really disappointed me. I was looking forward to killing him slowly and painfully. Oh well, at least he's gone.

Not long after that I learned that the Metal Head leader was slain. Killed by the other escapee. What was his name? Jak? Yeah I think that's what it was.

Only a day later, someone came for me. Seemed a Krimson Guard tipped off someone in the Grand Council about my imprisonment. I guess they're not all bad. Before I knew it, I was being held in the palace. I was at every council meeting where they discussed my fate. I heard some good appeals, but it would seem that I was too dangerous to be kept in the city.

Not long after my fate was decided, things went from bad to worse. During my "stay" at the palace, I heard a lot of talk about the war effort. Metal Heads that remained in the city after the leader was killed. There's also talk of a new leader in the KG. Death Bots attacking from industrial side. Things were not looking good.

In a KG escort vehicle, myself, a different prisoner, Krimson Guards, and members of the Haven City High Council were all traveling to a distant location. To my understanding, it was to a place called the Wasteland. I was locked in a full body suit of restraining armour with jolt cuffs. The other prisoner I recognised. It was the boy with green-yellow hair from the fortress. He was also locked in jolt cuffs and looked incredibly pissed off. He had two animals with him. An ottsel that kept pacing around the ship and wouldn't shut up, and a brightly coloured bird that looked annoyed.

After about a six hour voyage, the ship slowed to a stop and landed. The boy, Jak, was led out of the ship with a group of city guards in new blue uniforms. Two council members followed. I only heard the beginning of the discussion.

"By order of the Grand Council of Haven City, for heinous acts and crimes against the people, you are hereby banished to the Wasteland for life."

After that I didn't hear much. The two council members were arguing. Eventually the ottsel and bird joined into the discussion. The exchange was short, and within ten minutes, the ship was taking off again, the bird, ottsel, and prisoner not in the passenger count.

After about another hour of flying the ship landed again. I was led out of the ship and into the desert sun. The guards hit the release switch on the restraints and the armour fell off. I was given fresh clothes during my hold at the palace. Simple pants and boots with a blood red sleeveless shirt. The glowing lines stood out, but were muffled under the sun.

The main council member – a man named Vegar, so I'm told – walked out of the ship and started to speak.

"By order of the Grand Council of Haven City," he said in the same way as he addressed Jak. "For being the unpredictable and reportedly dangerous result of Dark Eco genetic experiments, for the protection of the city and its people, you are hereby banished to the Wasteland for life."

With no one to argue my case, Vegar simply walked back into the ship followed by the guards. Not a moment later, the ship took off.

I looked around. All I saw were rocks, sand and cacti. Then I heard something. Something I haven't heard in a long time.

"Come to us, Warrior… Seek us out…"

I tried to judge which way the voices were coming from. I picked the least undesirable direction and started walking in complete silence.

**Woo. Finally finished Chapter Four**! **Sorry it took so long, but I wanted to make a lot of time pass in this chapter. Thank you all for waiting! Remember to review, because I love reviews! DT98 out!**


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

I walked on in the desert in complete silence. Well, silence from me anyway. The desert was covered in life. From the Wumpabees that buzzed around feeding on the cacti, to the roaring sounds of vehicles that could belong only belong to the infamous Desert Marauders; there was hardly a moment of silence. And then there were the voices.

At a fairly regular point, the voices would tell me where to go or just give the usual 'Come to us…' The voices turned out to be a good help. The desert looked the same with very few distinguishable landmarks. In the opposite direction, I could see the outline of city walls and a tower, but when I would try to go that way the voices would stop me. Not forcefully, but with almost some kind of persuasion.

I had been walking for hours, without making any real progress. I had passed a freshwater river, which probably saved my life. The water was surprisingly cool and refreshing. It was a pity I couldn't pack any with me.

What was a real stroke of luck is that I hadn't come to the attention of any Marauders yet. From the stories Sig always told at the Hip Hog Heaven Saloon, they were notorious scavengers of the Wasteland. No matter what kind of Eco-juice was pumped into me, I couldn't control it. And because of that, I was defenceless.

I eventually arrived at what looked like the end of the Wasteland. I had reached a series of islands that looked like they went on for a while. The persuasion was compelling me to go forward, but the problem with that were the twenty-foot gaps between the islands.

"You need to jump…"

I looked up at the sky (mostly because I don't know where else to look to speak to a disembodied voice) and started yelling at nothing.

"Great idea!" I said. "And while I'm at it, I should conjure up an army, storm Haven, and demand Krew to give me my last paycheck!" I gestured at the islands. "You see those?" I asked the air. "That's at least twenty feet. NO ONE CAN JUMP THAT FAR!" I felt like a crazy person yelling at the sky, but it kind of felt good.

"Use the power… Focus… Charge the energy to your legs, and the jump…"

I was kind of startled. I honestly did not expect the sky to answer me. I looked up, pressed my index finger to my thumb and left the other fingers up in the "OK" sign.

'Alright,' I thought. 'The stupid disembodied voice says focus. So let's focus.' I imagined all the power in my body congregating in just my legs. I did start to feel something, which was strange because I lost feeling in my legs about an hour beforehand. 'It's now or never, I guess.' So I jumped.

And man, did I ever.

I didn't just jump. I rocketed off the ground, well beyond the first island. When I did land, I looked behind me to see that I had jumped over three islands. I laughed a bit to myself. "So that worked…" I muttered. I focused more and jumped again. Again I rocketed over islands. Within minutes, I had passed all the islands and stood facing a large structure.

There were large pillars everywhere. I looked around and saw what looked to be a door further in. I walked towards the door and looked around. It looked to be the ruins of some kind of temple. When I reached the door, I looked it up and down. There was no way to open it. I walked closer to inspect it further and suddenly, it started to move. A big piece moved down from the top, and the two halves moved apart. I walked in and gaped at the inside of the room.

It was much larger than the outside. There were burning braziers and urns everywhere. There was only one way out by the looks of it, though. I walked over to the arch and looked at the giant, floating white eye at the top. It looked like it was watching for something, but it didn't seem to notice me. I walked past it, never taking my eyes off it in case it would decide to try any funny business. It then occurred to me that I was watching a giant eye. When the degree of stupidity and paranoia finally set in, I turned away from the ominous floating eye and started down the hall.

I was amazed by the structure of the temple. The building was incredible. I was captivated by the designs on the halls that I hadn't realized how long I'd been walking. I soon found myself in a large room. And at the very centre of the room there was something that made my jaw drop.

I was staring straight at a giant idol. It was structured like the Oracle statue that you could see in the Water Slums section of Haven. It had very large eyes, and what resembled a nose that went down its face to the middle of its chest.

Suddenly, the eyes lit up a pale bluish-white. I yelped and jumped back a couple feet. Suddenly, it spoke. The voice was that of the one in my head, but this time it actually came from the idol.

"Valric Meddon…" the voice spoke in a gritty, booming voice. "We've been waiting for you…"

**DT98 here! Sorry I haven't been updating as much. I've had writers block for gods know how long. But I'm gonna try to keep this one updating as much as I can. Please review, because I love reviews and don't get many. DT98 out!**


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

"Who the hell are you?!" I shouted at the talking statue. The level of frightened I was on was WAY beyond shocked. I was freaking out!

"Do not be alarmed Valric." The statue spoke, its voice echoing through the large room.

"Alarmed?" I asked, laughing hysterically. "I've been tortured, used as a fucking science experiment, tortured again, and then I had to walk through this massive dessert to a place that I have no idea what it is, all to come face to face with a giant talking statue! So excuse me if I'm a little jumpy!" My fear was giving way to anger, and purple bolts of energy were starting to spark off my body.

"Be calm Valric, and we shall explain –"

"Be CALM?!" I shouted. "Did you not just hear me? I will not be calm! Who are you –"

Suddenly a pillar of white light enveloped me and I started to rise into the air. Before could think to start shouting, I suddenly felt…calm. Like all my pain was fading away. The burning anger I've felt since the experiments started suddenly felt lessened. When I was set back on the ground, I felt immensely better.

"Are you willing to listen now?" the statue asked. I nodded my yes.

"Good," it said. "To start with the question as to who we are, we are the creators of this and all worlds. We are the Precursors. This place is one of the last Precursor Temples left on this world."

"This is all very impressive and honouring, but what does it have to do with me?" I asked. "And what was that light?"

"During your time in incarceration, you were experimented on with Dark Eco." the Precursor explained. "This contaminated your blood with the dark energy. The white light was Light Eco. We could not fully purify your blood, but the light energy will balance out the dark."

"That is good to know, but once again what do I, or more importantly, my blood, have to do with anything?" I asked.

"You're blood is sacred," the Precursor replied. "You are part of an ancient bloodline created millennia ago called Eco Morphers."

"Eco Morphers?" I asked. "Care to elaborate a bit on that?"

"To be an Eco Morpher is an ancient skill passed through blood." it explained. "It has been dormant through your family for the last two hundred years. The skill itself is the ability to control and manipulate raw Eco. To be able to wield it as a weapon in its most powerful form."

"Sounds impressive," I said. "But if this has been dormant for two centuries, why is it only now starting to show?"

"The Precursor Stone." it said. "Was never really a stone at all. In truth, it was the last Precursor Egg in existence. When Baron Praxis tried to inject you with the Precursor energy, part of it reacted with your blood, awakening the powers of the Eco Morphers."

"But to what purpose?" I asked. "Why was the Eco Morphers created to begin with?"

"We created the Eco Morphers millennia ago to be the line of defense from evil forces." The Precursor explained. "Up to the point around two hundred years ago, Eco Morphers were plenty. They were sacred warriors and revered for their abilities. They were reduced to miniscule numbers when they fell in the Metal Head War. When their leader failed his comrades and fled the battlefield. Your ancestor was that warrior Valric."

I stood in silence as that sank in. Things weren't adding up. If my ancestor had fled the battle, who was the warrior in black? Who had faced the Metal Head leader in my vision? Too many questions that I could tell were not going to be answered by the Precursor.

"Are there any others besides me?" I asked.

"We have been able to detect one other energy signal that mirrors your own," the Precursor replied. "But we have not been able to pinpoint it yet. But yes, there is one other."

I nodded. "That is good. I did not enjoy the thought of being alone." I thought a bit and decided I had one final question.

"What now?"

"What do you mean?" the Precursor asked, a slight change in its monotone voice finally arising.

"Well," I replied. "There has to be a reason why you brought me here. I don't imagine it was to say 'hey, you have newly awakened untold powers, see you later'."

"That is true," it replied. "There is a reason you are here. This planet is in grave danger. Rouge Precursors called the Dark Makers are coming. They destroy everything they come in contact with, and this planet will just be one of many others to meet that fate. You are here to save this planet. To take up the ancient role of the Eco Morphers and defend this world from the corrupt Precursors."

"Save the world…" I muttered, hearing my own doubt in the words. "I don't think I can do that. I am a weapons builder for a Haven City criminal organization. I'm not a hero. I'm a scumbag. You've got the wrong guy."

"There is no other who can take your place. Even if we find the other Eco Morpher, one will not be enough to stop the Dark Makers."

"I can't do it." I said as firmly as I could.

"You will be trained to use your powers," it replied with more certainty than I. "You will learn to fight and defend this world. Your history as a weapons designer will be a great asset because it will help you to create weapons straight from your mind."

"This sounds all very exciting, but I don't know how you expect me to control Eco like that. I could barely control it when the Dark Eco took over."

"You do not possess the proper tools to control it yet. We shall grant you the tools required to properly manipulate Eco. But Dark Eco is dangerous. It is lethal in its purest form and act on its own whim. You can't control it without assistance. If it gets out of control, it could destroy you, and quite possibly, the world."

"And that's…bad I take it?" I asked.

"Very." it replied.

"Well alright then. I guess I'm not left with much of a choice. How are you going to train me to do this?"

A small round section of the floor suddenly split in half and two objects came rising up out of it. I walked towards them and saw they were pitch black gauntlets. They looked exactly like the ones the Black Warrior was wearing in my vision.

"These gauntlets were worn by your ancestor," the Precursor explained. "He was a Dark Eco specialist, so this should work well for you. Put them on."

I took the gauntlets from where they were floating in the air and I put them on. Immediately I felt a massive surge of energy go to my hands. The lines covering my body started to glow a purple so dark it was almost black. Bolts of purple-black energy were sparking between them like a miniature storm.

"How do you feel?" the Precursor asked.

I looked away from my hands up at the statue and smiled. "Powerful." I replied.

"These gauntlets will allow you to manipulate, mold and control raw Eco." it explained. "You can control the two basic Eco right now. Dark and Light. Dark Eco will be your offense, while Light Eco will be your basic defense. Other kinds of Eco you learn to manipulate have special abilities, but Dark and Light are very basic. We will give full instructions on how to wield this energy in the training hall."

And with that, a large door opened to the right of where I was standing. I nodded at the statue and started down the hall with my hands still sparking.

**Well, this was a long chapter! Sorry it took so long to update, but I hope you all enjoy it. Now that we've got all this explaining shit out of the way, we can get to some more interesting stuff! Hopefully… whatever. DT98 out!**


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

I didn't notice how long the walk down the hall was. I was trapped in thought, staring at the gauntlets on my arms the whole time. With a simple thought, I sent purple energy sparking at my fingertips. The power I felt while wearing the gauntlets was…incredible. Within what felt like minutes, I reached a massive room.

You could easily tell it was a training room. Scattered all about the huge chamber training dummies and targets. There were various obstacle courses, all with difficult looking challenges. A 20-story climbing wall, a huge pit with a seemingly never-ending bottom, and a few other…unusual courses. I noticed there was also a giant Precursor Idol, just like the one in the main hall.

I wandered around the massive room, not expecting what to find, when all of a sudden the eyes on the Precursor Idol flashed white, just like the other statue. And sure enough, it began to talk.

"Welcome to the Hall of Practice," it said, its booming voice resonating through the hall.

"Here you will learn to harness your abilities, as many Eco-Morphers have done before you. The skills you learn here will be vital if you are to save this world."

I took another look at my surroundings before looking back at the Precursor.

"This is all very impressive. But how is a giant pit and…are those crossbows? I think they are…going to help me save the world?" I asked

"Those will come in good time," the Precursor replied. "For now let's work on your Dark Eco abilities. If you would approach the target range please."

I walked over to the target range. The targets were made of a metal of some kind that I didn't recognise, but they were full of burn marks so it had to be resilient.

"Dark Eco will be your main method of attack for now. The simplest way for you to attack will be an energy blast."

I looked over my shoulder back at the statue.

"And how am I to do that?" I asked it.

"Raise your hand and aim it at the target," the statue replied. "Now focus. Force the energy from your body to travel through to your arm, and then use the gauntlet as a release."

I lifted my hand and pointed it at the target. I closed my eyes and concentrated, imagining a blast of Dark Eco coming out of my hand. I started to hear a slight crackle that sounded like static and I opened my eyes. The hand of the gauntlet was glowing with a dark purple light and sparking off small bolts of lightning. Suddenly, I felt a small discharge from my hand and watched a bolt of Dark Eco shoot from my hand and strike the target, leaving a smoking patch on the metal.

I looked back at the statue, this time with a satisfied smirk.

"Like that?" I asked.

If statues could nod, I bet that one would've.

"What's next?"

"Well," the Precursor replied. "You obviously have a hand for your ranged attack. Now we will teach you something more close-quarters. If you would please approach the training dummies."

I walked over to a small cluster of the training dummies. They were built to last, with reinforced steel frames and armour made of the same metal as the targets. I looked back at the statue.

"What do I do this time?" I asked

"Concentrate again," the Precursor replied. "But this time focus your energy into your fist. The rest will be self-explanatory."

I closed my eyes again and concentrated. I could feel the same surge of power in my hand and forearm, but this time it didn't feel like it wanted an exit. I opened my eyes and saw my arm was glowing the familiar dark purple of Dark Eco. It was covering my arm like a second skin, and I could feel the power in my fist.

'The Precursor said it would be self-explanatory,' I thought. 'Let's see if I got the right meaning.'

I wound up my arm and threw a punch at the dummy. A small storm of purple lightning sprung up where my fist connected and the dummy's head went flying off. I looked down at my fist in awe. I hadn't felt a thing.

I looked back at the statue. "How was that?" I asked.

"Very good," it replied. "Your power is…impressive. But anyone can throw a punch. Now let us see how you fare with Light Eco. If you would please approach the crossbow turrets."

I walked over to the crossbow 'turret'. It seemed more like another target range, only I seemed to be the target.

"Light Eco will serve as your main method of defense. Used well, these skills will save your life more times than you can count. First off is the Light Shield. Used properly, this ability will shield you from most attacks."

I stared up at the crossbows. "And these are here for…?" I asked.

"To test the strength of your shield."

"Naturally…" I muttered to myself. "Alright. How do I make the shield work?"

"As always, you focus. But this time, you're not focusing in one spot in particular. You have to feel the energy coursing through your whole body, and focus it into a physical force surrounding your body. Be warned, it is not easy for a Dark Eco Eco-Morpher to control Light Eco. This will be much more difficult."

I nodded and closed my eyes. I did as the Precursor said and focused. I felt the energy coursing through my veins. I could feel the power in my blood. For what felt like moments I concentrated on the power, when suddenly I felt a surge. Like exhaling, the power left, and when I opened my eyes there was a shimmering white force field surrounding me.

"Is this what you were going for?" I asked.

"Yes," it replied. "But you could've been faster creating it."

"What? That took a minute, maybe two."

"You've been concentrating for an hour."

The pride I gained from creating the shield died away when I heard that. "Oh…" I replied.

"Irrelevant. We can work on that. For now, let us see how strong your shield is."

Immediately after the Precursor said that, a shot fired from a crossbow. As it struck, there was a flash of light from the shield. The bolt hadn't just been stopped, it'd been completely vaporised.

"Very impressive," the Precursor muttered. "But can you do two things at once? Hold up your shield and blast a bolt out of the sky with the Dark Eco."

Another shot fired and a bolt flew straight towards me. I tried to fire a blast of energy, but the bolt was flying fast. My concentration broke and the crossbow bolt ripped through my shield and struck me in the shoulder. I fell to my knees and cried out in pain.

"You need to focus!" the Precursor boomed, voice resonating through the entire chamber.

"Yeah I got that. Thanks for that. I'VE BEEN SHOT! WHAT DO I DO!?" I shouted, anger and pain starting to take over my mind. I was losing control of my power, Dark Eco flashing form all over my body.

"This is when you learn another Light Eco ability. This is when you learn to heal. Focus your energy, a small portion of it, to the wound."

I took a breath, but my breathing was still uneven. I closed my eyes and tried to focus, but all I could feel was the blood flowing from my shoulder.

"You have to calm your mind Valric! Your focus must be strong, or it will not work!" The voice of the Precursor wasn't helping much, but I tried to comply.

I took another breath and tried to steady my breathing. I ignored the sensations, the feeling of my warm blood covering my hand and running down my arm. The feeling of warm blood started to melt away and I started to feel the warmth of the Light Eco. I felt the pain fade away and the blood stop flowing. I opened my eyes and looked at my shoulder. The crossbow bolt had dissolved, leaving nothing behind. The wound itself was glowing white and I watched as the flesh knitted itself back together. In less than a minute the wound was completely healed, leaving not even a scar behind. I stood up, staring at the Precursor Idol and waiting for it to say something.

"Very good," it said in a solemn voice "But we aren't finished yet. There is still one ability you've yet to learn. If you would please approach the pit."

I walked over to the bottom-less pit and looked over the edge. It appeared that there was a bottom, but it was _very_ deep down. Definitely wouldn't be a fun fall.

"To perform this ability, you're going to have to jump."

I spun around and stared at the statue, my mouth agape.

"ARE YOU INSANE!?" I yelled at it "HAVEN'T YOU ALMOST KILLED ME ENOUGH FOR ONE DAY!?"

"Don't worry Valric," the Precursor replied with an eerily calm voice. "You won't die. You will sprout wings."

I stood, staring at the statue for about a minute before I turned around and started walking towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" the statue asked.

"You've lost it there Rockhead," I shouted back, still walking away. "I'm not jumping into a pit, I'm not sprouting wings, and I'm most certainly not being trained by a crazy statue!"

Suddenly, I couldn't move. I was frozen, mid-step.

"I am not insane. That is the Light power. Come back and I will teach you."

I unfroze and fell to the ground. I stood up, brushed myself off, and reluctantly walked back to the pit.

"Fine. Please giant Precursor thingy, teach me how to grow wings like an Eco wielding chicken."

"Alright," the Precursor replied, stifling what might've been a laugh. "Focus the Light Eco to your back and expel it as a pair of wings."

I sighed and closed my eyes. As per normal, I felt the energy course through my body and I focused it at my back. After a minute of concentration, I felt the energy expel in a way it never had before. When I opened my eyes, I was hovering above the ground. I looked behind me and saw a magnificent pair of shimmering white wings.

"Holy fuck…" I muttered, staring at the wings. They were flapping slightly, just enough to keep me above ground. I tweaked my focus a bit and soon found myself dropping slightly to the ground. I stood there, probably looking like a moron with a giant set of wings on my back.

"Very good Valric," the Precursor said. "Now you need to test them. And to do that, you need to jump."

This time I nodded with no arguments. I ran forward and jumped over the edge. The wind was loud in my ears as I freefell through the crevice. My eyes were closed and I was concentrating on trying to fly. I was thinking about all the birds I've ever seen and anything from Haven City that managed to fly. After a minute, the wings spread out and flapped once. But man did that flap count.

I soared upwards out of the pit and started flying around the Training Room. It was the most fun I'd had in a long time and I whooped and hollered the entire time. It was incredible. One flap of the ethereal wings could last quite some time. But my fun was cut short when I heard the Precursor's voice in my head.

"Come down Valric… Come down or I will bring you down…"

I scowled and started my descent. When I landed, the wings dissipated and the feeling of power left me.

"I think that is enough training for today," the Precursor said. "There is another exit from the training room that will take you to your chambers. Rest while you can Valric, and regain your strength. Training resumes first thing in the morning."

I nodded and started towards the exit.

**Well, is it just me or did that take a long time? Sorry, I'm really crappy with my updates. I hope you like this chapter. Review if you want to, and please want to. I love reviews, good or bad. DT98 out!**


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

_**One Week Later**_

I stood on the sparring field, flexing my fingers, readying myself for an opponent to charge at any moment. Suddenly, the ground erupted in front of me and a volley of arrows shot from the dust cloud. I flung my arms forward and a shield of Light Eco formed immediately, shattering the arrows. Following my shield, I fired a blast of Dark Eco into the dust cloud, striking something within it. A skeletal warrior came flying out the other side of the dust cloud and hit the ground, obviously being the thing struck by my Eco blast.

"Skeletons. Great." I muttered to myself.

I ran forward, dodging arrows and flinging small shields to intercept them. I jumped up and summoned the Light Eco wings. With two quick flaps I blew away the dust cloud and landed again, my battlefield open and maneuverable. I ran through the crowd of skeletons, dodging blades and arrows. Mostly they just attacked each other in the confusion.

Dark Eco gathered around my gauntlets and formed into the second skin of energy. I threw punch after punch, their brittle bones shattering and weak weapons snapping against my fists. I grabbed a skeleton by the head and poured energy into it. Then I whipped it around and threw it into a group of its comrades. It exploded on impact, sending bones and debris flying in all directions.

I spun in a circle to see that I was surrounded at all sides by the skeletons. I jumped up and charged energy into my fists. When I landed, I slammed my fists into the ground, sending a massive shockwave of Dark Eco in all directions. The shockwave devastated the skeletons, causing them to shatter at the slightest movement. Within moments, the entire battalion of skeletons was destroyed. I turned back to the Precursor Idol.

"Satisfied?" I asked.

The statue did not reply.

"Oh come now, Rockhead," I pestered. "Don't go quiet on me now. You know how much I enjoy our talks." I snickered at that last remark.

The Precursor still did not reply.

"Alright you glorified boulder," I said. "Now you're starting to piss me off. I've been here for a week, training my ass off, and I am no closer to this whole 'saving the world' then when I started. And now you won't even talk to me? This is bullshit!"

For the first time since the crossbow incident a week earlier, anger was starting to cloud my mind. The gauntlets sparked with the familiar purple lightning. Soon, my actions got out of hand and I started throwing blasts of Dark Eco at the Precursor. When they got within 10 yards of the statue, they collided with an unseen force and dissipated.

"Oh, so you can block my blasts but you can't talk to me?" I shouted at the Precursor, still firing more blasts. "I'm sick of all this training, you giant stone coward! Give me a real mission!"

Suddenly, I felt the power shut off. Like a switch that had just been flipped, my power just felt gone. I couldn't call on it. I also noticed that I wasn't angry anymore. Without the Dark Eco to fuel the rage, it was non-existent.

"You want a mission?" the Precursor replied. "Fine. We shall give you one."

I bowed my head. "Thank you."

I felt my power start to return, but the rage did follow. It would seem it had been sated.

"What happened there?" I asked. "What happened to my powers?"

"The Precursors created the Eco Morphers. While you have the ability to wield the Eco, we control the source. We simply cut you off, and let you drain your reserves."

I thought about that for a moment, but decided to dismiss it. "So, this mission? What does it entail?"

"Farther into the dessert, there is a cave in a mountain. This cave is inhabited by Metalpedes. Go there, and eradicate them. There is an object in the cave that will be your reward, and the object's energy will draw you to it."

I bowed my head again and walked towards the window that was nearby. I stood on the edge with my back to the dessert.

"Thanks Rockhead." I said, giving a small wave.

I leaned back, my footing giving way and I fell backwards out the window. I freefell for about 50 feet before doing a single flip in the air and summoning my wings. I fell a little bit longer before spreading my wings and soaring upwards. With a single flap, I was well into the air and flying through the dessert air.

**Well, this chapter was a little shorter, but not bad I suppose. I really want to thank everyone for the positive feedback I got on the last chapter. It means so much to me that my work is appreciated. I'll try and keep this updated as often as possible for you awesome readers! DT98 out!**


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